


Robin: Year One

by RhinosaurusRex



Series: Gotham Knights [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-07 20:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14088942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhinosaurusRex/pseuds/RhinosaurusRex
Summary: Rex Everett is a young boy in a travelling drama troupe. When the troupe stops at Gotham City for the week he discovers an interesting truth about his parent's death so many years prior. Armed with the gymnastics skills from the drama troupe and the Martial Arts from Bruce Wayne Rex is ready to prove himself as Robin and go up against Gotham's most dastardly criminals.





	1. Falling Star

The last caravan parked, completing the circle of vehicles and everyone exited their cars. The famous drama troupe, 100 Faces, was one of the most well-known and highly praised troupes not only in the US but all over the world, they did tours of North America, Europe, Australia and parts of Africa and Asia, their next big show was to take place in the grim theatre of Gotham City. A young teen jumped out of the car and stretched his limbs out, yawning loudly as he did so.  
"You excited pal?" one of the adult troupe members asked as he walked up to the fourteen-year-old, "This is your first play in Gotham."  
"I'm going to love it!" the boy replied, and he wasn't kidding either, Shakespearian plays were some of the best plays to perform, they were interesting and complex and always posed a challenge, Gotham was able to see the boy's all-time favourite play, Macbeth.  
"Rex, come help me out over here would you!" another man yelled over to the boy. Rex ran over to him and picked up a heavy-looking pile of rope. Rex had been in the theatre troupe his entire life, his parents were both members who met, fell in love and eventually married while travelling around. Rex never got to meet his parents, they had died in a tragic accident shortly after he was born, but he was told that they were the two best actors the troupe had ever seen, they were always the lead couple, Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, the stars of the show and a lot of the other actors would admit that Rex inherited their talent. Even though he never had his parents it never bothered him, neither of his parents had any family but the drama troupe was like a family to Rex, they raised him and taught him everything he'd ever need to know, they were a tight pack who were always close to each other and very loving.  
"You seem a little bit tired buddy," the director informed, walking up to Rex, he was an elderly, bald man however still in perfect shape. Rex rubbed his eyes slightly before nodding and yawning. "I think you've helped set up enough for today, go get some sleep, I need to talk to you first thing tomorrow." Rex nodded and walked towards his trailer, he opened the door and stripped down his clothes, he grabbed his pyjamas and slipped them on, he looked down on his bedside table and picked up a picture frame that held a photo of his parents holding a little baby, he always looked at the picture before going to bed, it helped to remind him that no matter where he goes or how long it's been, they will always be with him. He fell into bed and quickly drifted off to sleep. 

...

Five O'clock rolled by and Rex sprung to his feet, he had been used to getting up early to start final rehearsals for the matinee show however for Gotham they were only doing night shows, nevertheless, Rex was up as the years of waking up at five had set an internal clock inside him. He quickly dressed and walked outside, careful not to wake anyone, not that it mattered too much seeing as most of the actors were like him and were up already, he strolled around the caravans, something he liked to do in his spare time until he reached the director's trailer. He knocked on the door quietly to see if the director was awake.  
"Come in," he heard the director sing from the other side. Rex opened the door and walked in.  
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Rex said as he took a seat.  
"Not at all, I needed to talk to you anyway," the director informed. He took a seat opposite Rex and pulled out a folder.  
"First, do you know what's special about Gotham City?" the director asked, Rex thought for a moment.  
"It's an incredibly old city," Rex guessed, the director smiled at Rex's obliviousness.  
"Rex, Gotham City is where you were born," the director informed. Rex widened his eyes as he heard that.  
"Really?" Rex asked; the director nodded his head. This was amazing, Rex never really asked too many questions about the specifics of his birth, he knew the date and that he was born during the troupe's American tour but that was all he ever recovered.  
"It's been just over fourteen years since we've performed in Gotham and now that we're back I want to read you something in your parents' Will. He opened up the folder that housed an old piece of paper. "The life of drama and travelling has always been the dream for Wade and I," the director read out, "but that doesn't mean our son will feel the same way, when he returns to Gotham City I ask he be given a choice to stay and break free from the life of drama to follow his own path." Rex was speechless, leave the drama troupe? he wasn't sure what his mother was thinking, why would he ever want to leave? "Now, you do have the choice to stay and I know how much you love it here. As much as I would hate to lose one of our best actors your happiness comes first, we're in Gotham for the next week, you can use that time to explore the city and see if it's what you want, ok?"  
"Ok, thank you so much for telling me," Rex replied, he was barely staying still in his chair, he couldn't believe this was the city he was born in, he had to check it out, see what it was like.  
"Well, I'm sure you're eager to start exploring so make sure to be back here by four," the director informed. Rex jumped from his seat and rushed to the door.  
"I will, thank you again!" he cheered as he exited the trailer. This was going to be epic, he wasted no time in walking into the heart of the city to start exploring. Gotham was a truly beautiful city in its own way, it had an old appeal to it, most of the buildings were still made of stone with amazing architecture long lost to the modern world, it felt like he was in the 1880s.

...

"So how was the city?" the actor playing Macbeth asked as Rex entered the back room of the theatre in his costume, he was playing the part of Malcolm, Prince of Cumberland.  
"It was fun," Rex replied, "but Gotham's a big city, I'll be looking through more of it tomorrow."  
"Sounds like you have a busy week," he smiled.  
"Yep!" Rex smiled back. The actors all prepared as the audience gathered at the theatre, tonight was going to be a huge show as many rich and important people were going to be watching, including the multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne. Rex took a deep breath as he prepared to enter the scene.

The next two days were identical to each other. Rex would wake up at five before heading out to explore the city before arriving back at the theatre at four to prepare for the show, he had to admit, the more he explored Gotham the more intrigued he was about the gruesome city, it was going to be hard to choose between staying in Gotham and leaving with the drama troupe. On his fourth day, Rex was walking down a less populated street and decided to check out some of the back alleys, while it was true curiosity killed the cat Rex didn't mind, he didn't particularly like cats anyway. He walked down the small path, the only sound coming from his feet tapping on the stone, it was slightly unnerving, he was about to head back when a newspaper article caught his eyes. It was old, really old, the article itself was unreadable but the picture and headline that accompanied it was all that Rex needed. The photo that came with the article was the same that he had beside his bed, only in black and white, it was his parents happily holding him, the headline, however, sent him into a complete state of denial.  
**Alice and Wade Everett killed by mass serial killer Victor Zsasz.**  
Rex stepped back, staring at the newspaper clipping, he didn't know what to make of it, his parents died in a terrible accident involving a loose set piece while rehearsing, at least that was what he was told, the director wouldn't have lied to him, there was no way that could be true, could it?

"What is this?" Rex demanded as he burst into the Director's trailer, he slammed the newspaper clipping onto the desk and looked the man dead in the eyes. The director, caught by surprise, jumped as he heard Rex barge in, he turned around and instantly noticed the tears threatening to leave the boy's eyes.  
"Rex, what's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.  
"Explain this!" Rex shouted, shoving the newspaper clipping closer to the director's face, "my parents died during rehearsal!" The director sighed, there was no way out of this one, all he could do was come clean, Rex deserved to know the truth.  
"A few months after your birth we actually returned to Gotham to perform another show, during that time Alice and Wade decided to go out and have a fancy date, I agreed to take care of you while they were gone," the director took a pause, as if it was difficult for him to recollect the story. "Unfortunately, while they were out they came across a twisted serial killer by the name of Victor Zsasz, he murdered them without a second thought and ran off." Rex was visibly shaking after hearing the news about his parents' murder.  
"Why did you never tell me?" he demanded, anger laced in his voice.  
"I wanted to protect you," the director informed, "If you had learnt that your parents had been murdered you would have been devastated, I would know. I told you the story about them being killed during rehearsals so that you wouldn't think too much of it, it was just another accident."  
"So is that how you viewed their death?" Rex asked, tears now running down his face, "just another accident!"  
"Please Rex, take a deep breath," the director tried to calm the crying boy down, "you know I would never think that."  
"You should have told me!" he shouted, "you lied to me my whole life when I had a right to know how my parents died!"  
"I know Rex," the director tried to apologise, "I'm..."  
"The one thing I knew most about my parents turned out to be a lie!" Rex continued to shout, "I never got to meet them, the least you could have done was tell the truth!" Before the director had a chance to replied Rex had run out of the caravan and was long gone.  
"Rex! Come back!" the director yelled to no avail, he buried his face in his hands and sighed heavily. He kept it a secret to try and protect Rex, but all he managed to do was hurt him even more. 

...

Rex continued to run, the tears in his eyes obscuring his vision, he wasn't sure where he was running to, it didn't really matter, all he wanted was to get as far away from that place as possible. He had been lied to his entire life, they all knew what really happened and not one of them told him the truth, was anything they said about his parents true? he felt like he knew less about his parents than ever. Eventually, he couldn't keep running, he collapsed to the ground and wailed into his hands.

Bruce crept along the rooftop, it was fairly quiet so far, but then again, the criminal activity didn't start until the sun went down anyway. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a boy crying heavily, he stopped and walked towards the sound, sure enough, he spotted a chocolate haired boy crying in an alleyway, he dropped down and walked towards the boy. Startled, Rex looked up to see the caped crusader, he looked at Bruce with his tear-filled emerald eyes for a few seconds before returning to wailing into his arms. Batman walked up to the boy and sat next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. After a few moments Rex hugged Batman tightly, crying into his shoulder, Batman returned the hug and waited for Rex to be ready.


	2. Gotham...Meet Rex

Rex wasn't sure what it was about the oddly dressed man, he just seemed like someone Rex could trust, he felt safe around him, probably from all the years around people in funny-looking costumes. It took Rex a few minutes to stop wailing into Batman's shoulder but once he was done the man looked him in the eyes. Though his face was mostly obstructed by a cowl Rex could see the genuine concern on his face, after all, who wouldn't be concerned if they found a random boy crying in a dark alleyway, the man probably thought he was raped or something.  
"Is everything alright?" Batman asked, his voice was dark as usual but slightly more kind-hearted than the voice he used to speak with the general public. Rex sobbed lightly, he wasn't alright, that much was obvious, but he didn't want to bother the man with his problems, this was about a crime that happened a little over fourteen years ago.  
"I just discovered that I've been lied to my entire life," Rex replied, gripping the newspaper clipping he had in his hands tighter. Batman looked down at the old clipping as his eyes narrowed. He remembered working on the Zsasz case, it was in his second year of being Batman, Zsasz escaped him that time, he was later captured by Batman but had recently escaped and his whereabouts were unknown, Batman remembered talking to the drama troupe as Bruce Wayne, sharing his condolences to them and the couple's baby, this boy must have been the child.  
"I'm very sorry," Batman apologised to the boy, he was sorry for the death, and the fact that Zsasz got away with it.  
"I'm a member of a drama troupe," Rex informed, "I only found out a few days ago that I was actually born here in Gotham, in my parents' Will they gave me the chance to stay here in Gotham if I wanted to, at first I was sceptical, but now that I know this was also the place they died, I think I need to stay."

...

"Where's Rex?" a woman, playing Lady Macbeth, asked as she looked at the actors, "It's unlike him to be late."  
"He won't come," the director informed, sighing heavily, "he'd be too heartbroken after learning the truth about his parents' death."  
"I feel terrible for him," the woman replied, "but we need someone to take his place."  
"I will," a man offered, walking up to them, "I know all the lines."  
"Yes, but you're slightly bigger than Rex," the lady informed, "we only have three hours until the show starts, will you be able to fit his costume in time?"  
"Leave it to me," the seamstress assured confidently, "I can make Shakespeare costumes half asleep with one arm tied behind my back."  
"Good, the show must go on," the director looked out of the window and towards the city lights, "please be safe Rex."

...

"And that's how I landed the role of Mushu," Rex informed as he leaned against Batman, shortly after settling down Batman decided to stay with the boy and just talk, he remained quiet and listened intently to the boy as he told the crime fighter all about his many journeys. It felt nice, having someone to talk to, it calmed Rex down and helped him feel comfortable.  
"What was the favourite role you've ever had?" Batman asked, intrigued by the young man. Rex had to think for a minute, he had been in a lot of plays as a lot of characters, it was hard to single out his favourite.  
"Well, the most memorable was Pinocchio," Rex informed, "it was my first ever lead role, I was so excited when I was given it at the age of ten, but my favourite was probably last year when I played Chistery, the flying monkey from Wicked," Rex informed, "it may not have been a principal role but it was really fun doing all those tricks with the silks and stuff, I even got to play around with the audience for the first half an hour before the show started." Rex yawned loudly, he had a large smile on his face as he recited the many plays he had performed, and the immense joy he felt from each one.  
"You must be fairly good at acrobatics to play a role like that," Batman reasoned.  
"Not really," Rex slurred, starting to fall asleep, "silks are really easy when you know how to properly do them, I could teach you if..." Batman looked down at the boy to his side, he was happily sleeping on the man's shoulder, joy radiating off his face. Batman decided to stay there for another half an hour, so not to wake the boy until he was in a deep sleep, after the half an hour passed by Batman picked the boy up and carried him back to the drama troupe, he entered the caravan with the boy's name on it and tucked him into bed, Rex turned in his bed happily and hugged his pillow. Batman smiled before leaving the trailer and disappearing into the night.

...

Rex woke up groggily to the sound of knocking at his door, he got up slowly and opened the door to look at who was knocking. Though still blurry from being half asleep he could see the director with a tall man with pitch-black hair in a business suit.  
"Morning," he sleepily greeted, rubbing his eyes.  
"Well this is an unusual sight," the director laughed, "Rex still asleep at seven, I don't think I've seen it since he was a little boy. Rex this man wanted to meet you." The director motioned to the man next to him, in response, the man took a step forward and stuck his hand out, Rex took it and shook firmly, finally able to shake off the sleepiness.  
"You won't remember me but my name is Bruce Wayne," the man informed.  
"Mr Wayne was the first person to comfort us about your parents' death," the director replied, "he was also the only person who could calm you down as a baby when you started missing your parents." the director laughed as he wiped a tear from his eyes.  
"I watched your show the first night," Bruce informed, "I was surprised to see the little boy from fourteen years ago turn into such a talented young man." Rex blushed slightly as he was being complimented, he suddenly remembered something, he turned to the director.  
"I'm really sorry for my outburst yesterday," he apologised, "you were only trying to protect me and I shouldn't have yelled at you for that."  
"No, I'm the one who's sorry," the director replied, "you deserved to know the truth about your parents, I should never have kept it from you."  
"I've decided to stay in Gotham," Rex informed, "I want to be in the city where my parents died, it's my only chance to truly stay close to them."  
"I can't say I won't be sad to see you go," the director placed his hand on Rex's shoulder. "we're going to have to find a place for you to stay here though."  
"I might be able to help with that," Bruce interrupted, gaining the attention of the two. "I have a large house and I'm sure Alfred won't mind company, he could stay with me until he figures stuff out." Rex's face lit up like a Christmas tree.  
"Would you really be willing to let me stay with you?" Rex asked. Bruce chuckled. Suddenly, Rex became really sheepish and looked down at the ground. "I mean, I don't want to be a pain."  
"Don't worry about it," Bruce assured him, "It gets lonely with just Alfred and I in the big house, we could use an energetic teen to liven things up."  
"Well, in that case, why don't Mr Wayne and I go out to sort the legal papers out today," the director suggested, "Rex, I hope you're feeling up to the show tonight."  
"Don't worry, I am," Rex replied.  
"Good, I'll see you at four as usual," the director informed.

...

Rex placed the portrait of his parents at the top of the pile and zipped up his suitcase, he took a deep breath and walked outside his trailer, where everyone was waiting. He looked over all his colleagues, his family with a wide smile. The night prior was one of the most special moments Rex was sure he would ever experience, after the finale the director walked onto the stage and announced that it would be Rex's last show, the entire cast and audience gave him a standing ovation, Rex would be lying if he said he didn't cry.  
"I'm going to miss you all," was all he managed to say before starting to cry and hug them all, the last person he hugged was the director, he looked up at the man who smiled down at him.  
"You've truly been a blessing to this troupe," he informed, "we're all really sad to see you go and hope that we'll meet again." Rex nodded. "Stay safe and remember to always stay true to yourself, it doesn't matter what others think or expect, you're you and you're an amazing person, one of the best I've ever seen."  
"Thank you for everything you've done for me," Rex replied. Bruce walked up to the boy and ruffled his hair.  
"You ready to head out?" Bruce asked with a smile. Rex looked up at him with a large smile, he nodded and followed him to the car. Once he reached the car he turned around to see everyone waving to him, he waved back with a large smile and tears in his eyes. He sat in the passenger seat and Bruce drove off. "They were your entire life up till now weren't they."  
"Yeah, but it's time for a new chapter of my life," Rex replied. "And I'm going to tackle it head on!"


End file.
